Big Darby Creek, 8/29 and 8/30 6 a.m around Big Darby Creek area, covering the same route each morning..At the Wet Prairie, we walked the bridle path abound Teal and south nearly to Harrier area finding the interior viewing from the paths impossible because the rushes/prairie grass was too high and thick, as Rob implied. On Friday we entered to the interior and waded to several areas but it was a struggle (I don't recommend that). Hot and humid both mornings but found several active flocks of nontropical migrants at each stop. This surprised me. These included: the tall cluster of deciduous trees at the small parking space for the Wet Prairies; the overgrown shrub/broad leaf/grassy edge and fence row to bison pen near Nature Center; and open deciduous woodlands woody/vine thicket understory near the roundbarn on the Greenways trail followed by another episode in the mixed spruce/deciduous trees with mostly open ground or tall grasses with a nice boarder of shrub/thickets along the trail by the straw barn. There is an open area here with a tucked in grassy pool, surrounded by extensive sedge/tall grass/brushy flora. The pool is often used by shorebirds when conditions are good, which they aren't. Some true surprises! Flycatchers, especially empidonax were in good showing both days, especially the last spot where there are numerous twiggy snags high and low of all sized, Warblers around too, moderate variety. The rundown: FRI, 8/29 ducks: numerous small flocks of Mallards and Wood Ducks flying out of the prairies at dawn. Still no AMBD, usually here by now. First Gadwall and AMWI, each a small flock flushed. BWTE.Ad. f. Hooded Merganser with her two full grown young in Teal. grebe -- a HORNED GREBE in full breeding plumage was on an open pond well inside the marsh E of Teal. A small bird, it swam along, never diving, alertly flapping and excited swam as I moved off, but didn't fly or go into rushes. Golden fan still full, flaring behind ear; neck distinctly deep chestnut; definitely Horned not Eared. Bitterns/herons: A single AMBI, flushed from marsh, and 5 LEBI. LEBI bred here this year, at least two juv. seen late JUL-early AUG. A Yellow-crowned Nightheron, flying over in predawn light, going to roost after nightly foraging (I suppose). I think they breed in the Darby watershed as several were seen like this over the summer including a juv. 8/3. But both bitterns and herons increase here in late summer through dispersal. Rails: flushed a large excited King tall grasses/tussocks well into the marsh, east of Teal; flushed two VARA from dense veg. along bridle path. Heard three others and two Soras. While in the marsh waste deep in water at Teal, was 1 Common Gallinue, an ad. It swam further along the dense edge followed by its two juv! The 2nd Aug. in a row. Shorebirds: BBPL calling, flyover, predawn. Two SOSA. Six ad. LBDO along a pool edge, in water leg deep. They flushed in a flurry of high notes, calling as the gained altitude and disappeared AMWO -- 4, singles, fly by, pre dawn, apparently retuning to its day roost. Black-billed Cuckoo - 2, saw one, heard another along fenced area near Nature Center. Hummingbirds - 4, 2 investigating canopy of a tree WP parking; 2 same, but near ground checking a cattail tussock near straw barn. Flycatchers - 16 EWPE including a very dark heavily vested one near barn. YBFL - 5, two in broadleaf canopy at WP parking, 3 near barn; YB/LF - 2 near barn (these are probably ad. YB that have 0faded to nearly white below; narrow eyering and vest should exclude LEFL but not seen well enough; I have this category since past banding life on mid Atlantic and south Atlantic coast. By early Sept. YB ad. are often gray with white underparts. We, including some far more knowledgeable than I, needed to key them to ID); ACFL - 2, juv. Getting late for this sp. ALFL - 6, probably in their peak period; 2, in dry mid level deciduous trees at WP parking; 1 near Nature Center; 3, at the barn site. Calls (like a sharp DOWO or HAWO). WIFL - 2, preferring areas near ground, cattails. Calls. AL/WI - 5, probably ALDER but no calls, prolonged views/ LEFL - 8. I love these flycatchers, all of them? Wrens,Gnatcatchers - Sedge 2; Marsh Wrens 5 along the Teal Trail; BGGN -- 2 straw barn Vireos - Warbling scattered thruout; 1 YTVI in a shrub near roundbarn; 1 juv. White-eyed. Cedar Waxwings - one still nest sitting near roundbarn. Warblers - several species present at each site including; one m. BLWW; 6 TEWA; 8 NASH (incl. two in wetland thicket near Teal; 2 Chestnut-sided, 7 Blackburnian, 2 Cerulean (imm. m.),, 3 Yellow-throated, 1 Prairie (m; a rarity for me here, along Greenway), 8 Bay-breasted, 1 Worm eating (investigating a vine covered thicket, fence post near Nature Center); 8 NOWA; 2 MOWA (both along Greenways incl. an immature male working the broadleaf tip of a mature hardwood at mid level, I've seen them at heights before - once a spring m. nearly 50 ft. up in the canopy along a wooded ravine - but its always neat. It is on the down side of MOWA peak; being an early arrival in fall, barely overlaps with the mid Sept. arrival of COWA, as banding studies support; 34 Common Yellowthroats ( mostly in the prairie marshes); 4 WIWA (males). I still have not seen a YBCH in BD region this year...... Sparrows - 10 Field; 2 juv. Vesper (that would not leave the short grass path near Harrier); 5 Grass; 10 Henslow's (2 ad. and 8 juv.; 7 working the short grass in well spaced spots along the bridle path); 50 SONG (juv. Greenways); 21 Swamp (incl. 12 juv. in prairies). Buntings/Grosbeaks/Icterids - 30 INBU (including several males); 2 Blue Grosbeak (the first I've seen that are likely true migrants, rather than family groups which were daily at several places to mid AUG); 11 DICK (in blackbird roost in cattails Teal); 210 Bobolink, in blackbird roost; 28 E.Meadowlark flying into Greenways overgrown pastures near roundbarn; RWBB 7000 (roosting in cattails Teal, an annual event).; COGR 2000; 6 Orchard Orioles (prob. the last). Sat. 8/30 ducks: small parties of Wood Ducks, Mallards. Bitterns/herons: 2 LEBI. 1 YCNH Northern Harrier -- 1 juv. (very orange) gliding past Teal Rails: 2 VARA; 8 Sora.Teal; flushed a juv. VARA from the edge of the wetlands near straw barn Shorebirds: AMGP -- 28, a loose strung out flock flying low over Greenways; they looked to be descending and heading toward the bare earth behind Darby House off Darby Creek Rd.; this bare field had over 50 a week a go; Wilson's Snipe -- 2 snipe flushed as we neared Teal; not that unusual, I see a few each summer AMWO -- 1 fly by, pre dawn Red necked Phalorope -- 1 juv.; near the Straw Barn in the wetland pool (north end of Greenways) GHOW -- 2. calling before light, in distant west Whp poor will -- flying low, then higher, near canopy height, passed Teal in the growing light before dawn. Flycatchers - EWPE 9 YBFL - 3 ALFL - 3 "Traill's" -- 10, probably ALDER LEFL - 11 EAKI - 12, Teal Swallows - Teal, for a few minutes at first light Cliff 15 Barn 10 Wrens - Carolina, House, Sedge and Marsh Wrens Vireos - 1 BEVI, began scolding along fence row near Nature Center, came into viiew and gave us good looks. We followed it. Finally, worked its way near BDC Rd. and flew into trees at WP parking. (maybe the same bird we found singing in this very tree back on May 17); 3 YTV and 3 Warbling Thrushes - 6 Swainson's and a single fly over Robin Warblers - GWWA 4, all males, mid morning, mid to upper level mature woodlands, with dense margins of succession's growth TENW - 5 NOPA - 2 YEWA - 1, late, prob. last MAGW - 9 CMWA - 11 5 Blackburnian,, 3 Yellow-throated, 1 Pine (these three sp. in same edge as GWWA Bay-breasted 11 B&W, AMRE PROW 2 NOWA 4 Common Yellowthroat - 12 HOWA - 3 (2 ad. m., 1 f. type) Sparrows - Field 1 Henslow's 1 Song --10 Swamp 11 Buntings//Icterids - INBU 3 Bobolink 320 RWBB 9,000+ COGR 2000 BAOR -- 2 -- David Tan Columbus [log in to unmask] ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Please consider joining our Society, at www.ohiobirds.org/site/membership.php. 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